NFC Championship Game: Los Angeles Rams at New Orleans Saints

AFC Wild Card: Indianapolis Colts Vs Houston Texans

After what was a long, and somewhat surprising, season, we now know which 12 teams will be in the NFL playoffs and out in search of the Super Bowl. There are a couple of surprise entries this season, as well as a few rather shocking omissions, but we have come to expect that from this league. As is always the case, the first week of the playoffs will be reserved for Wild Card Weekend, with all but the top two teams in each conference set to take the field between Saturday and Sunday. The first game on the schedule will feature a pair of teams that no-one really saw coming. The Houston Texans should probably not be that surprising, as their poor season last year was more about injury issues than anything else. The Indianapolis Colts are a surprise, though, as we didn’t really know what to expect from Andrew Luck upon his return to the league after a bad injury to his shoulder. The Houston Texans are in as a 2½ point home favorite, with the point total for this one set at 47½.

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Why bet on the Indianapolis Colts?

The Colts season looked to be going as expected, as they were sitting with a 1-5 record after the first 6 weeks. It may have taken Andrew Luck that time to get comfortable after such an extended absence, as he certainly turned it on after that sluggish start. From that point forward, the Colts went 9-1, and while it wasn’t enough to win them the division, with that crown going to their opponent this weekend, it was enough to land them in the Wild Card. The Colts split the season series with the Texans this season, with each of those games decided by 3 points, but perhaps more importantly, the winner of each of those games was the road team. Indianapolis went 5-3 ATS on the road this season, which included going 3-2 ATS as the road dog. One the road, the Colts were 4-4 O/U this year.

Why bet on the Houston Texans?

The Texans headed into the final month of the season with a real shot at landing a first-round bye, but they went 2-2 SU in their final 4 games to land in the #3 spot. That is not altogether shabby when you remember that this is a team that started the season by losing their first 3 games of the year. The Texans finished the season strong in terms of the spread, covering in 7 of their last 10 games, but their overall record ATS, particularly at home, was not that convincing. They were 4-4 ATS as a home favorite, and just 5-6-1 ATS as a favorite overall. The Texans were 3-5 O/U in their 8 homes games this season, although they did see the OVER hit in 2 of their last 3 games.

Expert Pick and Prediction

The previous two meetings between these teams this season were both decided by 3 points, so it’s fair to suggest that this one will be close, too. I have it as a 3-point game again, this time in favor of the Texans. Predicted Score Indianapolis Colts 21 | Houston Texans 24